The first KTM motorcycles manufactured in the nineteen-fifties were wonderful machines that are still heart-warming to think about even today.
Leo Keller takes a fascinating look back in time through his rear-view mirror.
It's 5 a.m. on 13 March 1953 and several workers are push-ing three motorcycles out of a workshop and onto a lorry in Mattighofen in Upper Austria. Their destination, the Vienna Spring Fair, where motorcycles with tanks labelled with the 'KTM' insignia will be seen for the first time.
KTM's origins date all the way back to 1934 when the com-pany's founder Hans Trunkenpolz opened a repair workshop in Mattighofen and soon after became an official supplier of DKW motorcycles. In the post-war years, the workshop mainly repaired lorries that were urgently needed for the reconstruction process. Trunkenpolz made the best of the situation and manufactured the missing spare parts in his own company. By the start of the 1950s, the industrial production of spare parts was the company's main source of income and the repair business took a back seat. A new, second mainstay was therefore required to replace the falling number of repair jobs.
As only very few people could afford cars at the time Trunkenpolz decided to develop a cost-effective light-weight motorcycle of 98 cm³ that could expect a high turnover. At the time, the Austrian motorcycle industry consisted of a handful of manufacturers. However, most of these did not build their own engines and instead relied on products manufactured by the market leader Rotax, based in Gunskirchen in Upper Austria, a Fichtel & Sachs branch plant until the end of the war.
The development of what was named the 'R 100' motorcycle began at the end of 1951. Trunkenpolz too opted for a Rotax engine, a licensed version of the tried-and-tested pre-war Sachs.
The original design involved incorporating the engine into a reinforced bicycle frame and starting it with a pedal crank like on a moped. As Rotax also manufactured a version with a pull starter, however, it was possible to make the R 100 'motorcycle-like' with a footpeg instead of pedals.
The Rotax otherwise offered unsophisticated but reliable pre-war technology. A deflector piston worked in a piston-ported grey-cast cylinder with an aluminium head and provided three hp at 4000/min. The two-speed gearbox was switched using the twist grip on the left of the handlebar. The robust tubular frame with a rigid, unsprung rear end was quite sufficient for the maximum speed of 70 km/h. The parts used were the finest available in those hard times: rubber sleeves protected the undamped telescopic fork against dust from the road and the aluminium full hub brakes with shafts were otherwise only available on 250cc bikes.
At the Vienna Spring Fair, the machines
from Mattighofen were quickly given an
extremely positive reception. People
quickly learn the significance of the
three letters 'KTM': 'Kraftfahrzeuge
(motor vehicles) Trunkenpolz Mattighofen'.
Nothing further stood in the way of mass
production. Initially, a team of 20 built
three KTM R 100s per day. Just one year
later, production was doubled to six
machines. For anyone who wanted a little
more luxury, the R 100 L came in black,
blue or red with a shiny chrome tank.
Encouraged by its success, the new brand showcased a second model at the 1954 Spring Fair, the R 125 Tourist. With 'all-wheel suspension' (on the telescopic fork and swingarm) and a foot-activated three-speed Rotax-Sachs engine with a kick-starter, this had all the traits of a great machine. The new KTM was not just a simple means of transport but could also be used for sheer enjoyment purposes on longer trips – even if you would now snigger at the thought of a tour motorcycle with 6 hp and a constant speed of some 70 km/h.
The Mattighofen team impressively demonstrated the KTM R 125 Tourist's excellent performance through an endurance run from Paris to Vienna. Three factory bikes completed the almost 1300 km course in the harshest of weather conditions without any major problems in a total time of 21 hours and 41 minutes.
What was also impressive was that with an average speed of 69.97 km/h, the riders, who included company manager Hans Trunkenpolz, completed the route quicker than the Arlberg Express, which took 24 hours. When Ernst Kronreif became manager in 1955, the KTM company name changed
to 'Kronreif & Trunkenpolz, Mattighofen'.
The product range was expanded to include the Grand
Tourist with a speed of 90 km/h. In place of the un-
damped telescopic fork, a rocker fork with oil-damped
suspension struts now made the bike suitable for
normal roads. KTM also won its first off-road races
with the Grand Tourist. At the International Alpine
Rally, a tough three-day course over a distance of
1,100 km, all three KTM that started the race finished
in good positions. A year later, Egon Dornauer and Kurt
Statzinger won KTM's first 'six-day gold' at the
Six Days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, two medals that
have to date been followed by many more.
1957 saw the introduction of two new models at the same time: the Tarzan, a 'run-around' with a large buffalo tank, flat racing handlebar and rear seat, and the Mustang. This was the first mass-produced 'off-road KTM' and, in its field grey design, was even used by the Austrian armed forces. Although the engine came from the tried-and-tested 125 cc Rotax-Sachs, on roads it could now be lifted to eight hp using a four-speed gearbox.
However, even KTM was not immune from the Europe-wide motor-cycle crisis. Even the new Trophy with either a 125 cm³ or
150 cm³ four-speed engine was powerless. In 1960, KTM ceased production of motorcycles and focussed instead on producing scooters and 50 cm³ mopeds, which still had a much higher turnover.
